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‘Yes...the villa with the massive pool area?’
Tight-mouthed, he nodded confirmation with a jerk of his stubborn chin and splayed a hand to the base of her slender spine to lead her through the trees. ‘Lunch should be waiting for us. I want you to eat and go straight to bed—’
‘I’m not an invalid. You know, you never even mentioned that you owned a house here in Greece,’ Betsy reminded him as the trees slowly thinned out and an ultra-modern and graceful white villa surrounded by gloriously colourful gardens appeared in front of them. ‘Especially one so beautiful. Why didn’t you suggest we come here for our honeymoon?’
Nik gritted his even white teeth together, reluctant to admit that his memories of his time on the island had haunted him for years. ‘I originally built the house solely as an investment I intended to sell but I never got around to it. To be frank, I left the island to go to boarding school and, after my grandfather died, I had no good reason to return here—’
‘So not much in the way of sentimental attachment to this place, then?’ Betsy guessed, recognising the taut flex of long fingers against her spine, aware that he was very uneasy beneath the barrage of her questions and wondering why.
But then that was Nik, a fascinatingly complex male, layered with mystery with nothing as you expected and no information granted for free. It had always been that way and she had learned to live with that wall of reserve. When they were first married she had walked in awe of him a
nd his achievements, unable to understand why such a magnificently handsome, clever and wealthy male should choose to marry a lowly waitress when he might have married some rich socialite or successful businesswoman instead. She had never stopped being grateful that he had picked her, which was why she had never felt she had the right to complain when he left her alone so much.
Every paradise has thorns, she had thought, striving to be practical, knowing that many women would have been content simply to have a beautiful home and a string of credit cards at their disposal. Loving him to distraction, however, had made Betsy much greedier for his time and attention. Unfortunately she didn’t think any human being would ever engage his interest to the extent that his business empire did, and wishing for more from him was like wishing for the moon.
Even so, it was unfortunate that Nik’s former inability to grant her much of his personal time should have reminded Betsy of her years in foster care, when she had never been anyone’s priority and her needs had been more often a second thought rather than a first. Nik had left her isolated at Lavender Hall, much as she had been isolated in a series of foster homes without close connections to the other inhabitants or loving carers. In those days, she had wondered if she was inherently unlovable.
They walked into a cool white hall, decorated with lush plants, to be greeted by a pleasant middle-aged housekeeper called Stephania. At the foot of the winding elegant staircase, Nik bent and lifted Betsy into his arms, ignoring her protests.
‘No stairs for you,’ he pronounced drily. ‘If a dizzy spell hit you at the wrong moment you could have a nasty accident.’
‘You always think in worst-case scenarios,’ Betsy censured, amazed by the level of his pessimism while looking up at him to marvel at the length and lushness of his eyelashes, amused that she had to wear falsies to get even a hint of such luxuriance. It was wasted on him too, she thought abstractedly, for he was the least vain man she knew.
‘No, I’m taking sensible precautions for your benefit,’ Nik countered, reaching the wide decorative landing without an iota of breathlessness. But then in the wake of the doctor’s comments, Betsy didn’t think that carrying her could offer a well-built male much of a challenge.
The bedroom was a huge, dreamy space furnished with pale oak furniture, natural stone walls and draperies fluttering lightly at the open windows. Nik rested her down on a wide, sumptuously dressed bed.
Betsy rested her head approvingly back on a crisp white linen pillow. ‘This place reminds me of a five-star boutique hotel.’
Nik slipped off her shoes and a knock sounded on the door to herald the entrance of a maid with a tray. Betsy sat up against the banked pillows while Nik collected the tray. He handed her a fork and sat down on the side of the bed. ‘Eat before you sleep,’ he urged.
It was a chicken casserole and very good but his reference to sleep had roused her interest. ‘I was just wondering,’ Betsy began abruptly, putting curiosity ahead of tact when it came to what had once been a touchy subject. ‘Do you still suffer from the nightmares you used to get?’
Before her very eyes, Nik stiffened defensively, his bright eyes immediately veiling. ‘No. It seems that was just a phase. I was working too hard last year, not allowing myself enough downtime to chill,’ he parried with resolute cool.
‘You never would tell me what the nightmares were about,’ Betsy could not resist reminding him.
Nik shrugged a broad shoulder with careful unconcern. ‘Telling you about them would have given them undue importance and lodged them in my mind even deeper,’ he proffered in explanation. ‘I have always preferred not to dwell on negative events.’
He had removed his jacket and tie. Lean muscles flexed beneath his silk shirt as he reached for the tray when she finished eating and set it aside. He closed his hand over hers. ‘Now, you go to sleep.’
While she studied him with wondering blue eyes, his thumb caressed the soft inner skin of her wrist in a soothing motion and he lifted her hand, spread her fingers and pressed a kiss to her palm.
Her heart thumped in the smouldering silence, gooseflesh erupting on her exposed skin, tiny hairs rising at the nape of her neck while low in her pelvis she felt the sweet, all-pervasive tug of the hunger that only he could stir. Her breath shortened in her throat as she stared back at him. It was no use, his gut-wrenching sensuality plundered her defences like an invading army. That fast she wanted his mouth, wanted his hands on her body...and a great deal more. Colour blooming in her cheeks, she felt her nipples strain and push against the bodice of her dress while her thighs pressed together to ease the ache he had induced at the heart of her.
‘Later,’ Nik breathed with hoarse emphasis, sexual anticipation written boldly in every line of his hard, angular features and the blaze of his eyes. ‘If you sleep now, I’ll make a late-night banquet of you.’
Betsy was taken aback by that proposition. ‘But we...can’t—’
Nik rested a silencing fingertip against her parted lips. ‘Right at this moment the only thing that matters is that you get stronger and healthier. You don’t have to make any big permanent decisions while we’re here,’ he assured her with determined emphasis.
Her eyes opened very wide. ‘Sex isn’t a big decision?’
In answer, Nik flashed her a wickedly amused grin. It filled his lean, darkly beautiful features with such charisma that the roof could’ve fallen in without her noticing. ‘Not when we’re married and you’re already pregnant. What is the worst that could happen now?’ he drawled silkily. ‘That you might enjoy yourself?’
The warmth in her cheeks increased and she tore her gaze from his in self-protection, ashamed of her susceptibility. She had always enjoyed herself with him in bed. From the very first time to the very last time, sex with Nik had been a guaranteed passport to a wickedly seductive world of euphoric physical sensation. Long brown fingers gently circled her ankle and smoothed along the bare skin of her calf. A little tremor ran through her slight body and her lashes shot up again to focus on his lean, hard-boned face. In self-defence she closed her eyes but the predatory blaze of explosive hunger that had greeted her in his intense gaze was seared on the inside of her eyelids. Nik wanted her every bit as much as she wanted him. The awareness soothed her stinging pride but did nothing to assuage the flickers of eager warmth tingling through her lower body.
‘Allow me...’ Nik bent over her to run down the side zip on her dress and then without hesitation he gathered up the hem and lifted the garment off over her head.
